Summary:

Mick is a lone wolf in all ways. He’s left his pack, he’s left his homelands and he’s on the road, footloose and fancy free. Well, at least until he wanders up to a fence and finds a little wolf running his ass off behind it. Mick stops to let the pup out and is stunned to hear the young wolf, Scotty, tell him “no”. Scotty’s mate and best friend, Danny, asked Scotty to stay behind the fence, so he will be safe while Danny fights to support them both. All this leaves Mick’s fur standing on end. Maybe, Mick doesn’t need one mate to bring him home. Maybe, he needs two

This is a previously published work. The publisher had changed.

Excerpt:

Mick liked to go for a wander. His wolf form was perfect for it, too. No need for a backpack or a water bottle. Sure, the occasional hunter or farmer tried to shoot him, but then he’d just flash into his feral wolf form and scare the bejeezus out of them.

That was pretty fun, too.

Today, he was on the outskirts of Taos, where he’d left his truck, in a wee town called Arroyo Seco. Dry gulch. How hilarious was that? He’d sniffed around and growled away a couple of big herding dogs, but now, something else caught his nose. A scent he knew but was unfamiliar at the same time.

The scent of someone like him. Not from his clan, but a wolf like him.

His head tilted, and he started moving closer, nose working hard. Sweet, sharp. Nummy. Definitely male, which was his preference. Young enough to intrigue him.

The scrub out here was sparse. Trailer homes were just scattered like giant building blocks. There was an old Airstream trailer that sat back on its own, surrounded by a fence improvised out of scrub, wood and wire.

Inside, a young wolf ran from one end of the makeshift yard to the other, over and over.

Pretty. Gray. Tail like a plume. Nice.

Skinny though and a little desperate, running in circles to relieve stress. Poor baby. Who had him all penned up? The place was like a bad dog run. Only it was a wolf run, right?

Mick slowed, letting the pup see him, scent him, and the sweet skinny thing stopped and stared at him, tail drooping. Mick let his tail lift and wag. No sense not being friendly.

The pup came to the fence. Tail beginning to swipe back and forth, the youngster barked happily, greeting him.

Yes. Mick went to the biggest gap in the fence and pressed his nose there, offering to scent the pup. His nose was licked, lapped gently. Oh, so polite, so sweet.

He wanted to know why the kid was behind a fence. He blew softly, chuffing as the pup danced. Mick huffed out another little sound then started trotting down the fence, hunting an opening. The pup followed him, watching every move.

He stuck his head into one gap, but there was no way. Damn, he might have to human out to get in there.

Whoever had built this knew their kind. Surely, the kid understood he could change, right? Mick trotted around behind the trailer, because a naked man might be weirder here than a wolf.

The other wolf followed, sniffing the ground and the air.

He dropped his wolf form as soon as he was out of sight, his body lengthening into a biped. “Dude, why are you in a cage?”

The pup yelped and scrambled back, leaping onto the porch.

“Hey, I’m not here to hurt you. I can open the gate.”

The pup looked at him then boom, a lovely lean man stood there, shaggy blond hair curling around his face. “H-hey.”

“Hi. Would you like to run? I can get you out.” God, the kid was adorable and plenty old enough to play.

“Oh. Oh, no. Daniel would be so mad at me for getting out again.” Eyes the color of brandy caught the sun. “Daniel says I’ll get hurt, lost.”

“Does Daniel mistreat you?” Because Mick could beat someone down just for fun.

“Daniel? My Daniel?” The pup’s laugh was happy, joyous, the look on his face fond and warm. “Oh, no. Daniel loves me. He works for both of us. He brings me half his food every day. He’s a good mate. We… The Alpha said ‘too many males’, and we… Daniel pays for this home, he brushes me, he works all day every day.”

“Do you work?” Mick tilted his head, waiting, nodding in sympathy. Damn, it was hard for bachelor males to manage when thrust out on their own, especially ones who needed an alpha as much as this one did. It seemed like the kid barely held it together, at least on two legs. Sweet baby.

“I paint. I paint pictures, and I wash Daniel’s uniforms. I… I get… He follows rules better than me, and he can stop a shift, if he needs to. He can even work during the moon.”

Mick smiled, liking this kid a lot. “What’s your name, honey?”

“Scott. Scott Miller. What’s yours?”

Scott. It worked.

“I’m Mick Eagleheart. I like your belly. I kinda want to lick it.”

“Oh.” Scott jerked, and his cock started to fill, curving up toward the flat belly. “Oh, my.”

“I have an amazing sense of direction.” And he could tell Scott really cared for this Daniel. Mick would never want to come between mates.

“Cool.” Scott climbed over the fence and into Mick’s arms.

“Hello, there.” What a pretty puppy this one was. So starved for a strong hand. Daniel must be another pup, not a big male. He leaned in and sniffed, the hint of another sweet beta like perfume.

Lovely. He’d have to check in with Daniel, as well. Later. Impulsively, he hugged Scott tight. “Let’s run.”

It took seconds before the pup was fuzzy beside him, excited and happy. Perfect. Mick barked, his wolf coming easily, and he led the way off into coyote country. Scott ran beside him, vocal and chatty, telling him about everything wonderful in the world. Mick liked it, the little noises. Oh, it would make it harder to find prey, but that was all right. How often did you get to experience that type of pure, unadulterated joy?

This kid was too cooped up, and Mick would bet the absent Daniel was, too. So many wolves forgot how to live close to nature.

Scott bounded up to him, licked his muzzle then bounced away. They would have to play, he could tell. He raced to Scott, nipping that fine tail. Scott spun, sand flying everywhere, and the pup barked furiously.

Letting his tongue loll, Mick backed off, tail up, head down.

Scott stopped, stared then plopped his front end down, bowing back. Good boy. Such good instincts.